chrisash Report post Posted November 20, 2018 Just opened up my new machine and run a couple of Benchy tugboats in PLA after a frustrating 2 hours trying to level the table (all finger trouble), they came out excellent Anyway the point of the post, I aim to make stamps i can press using a Arbor press, will at the start be using Tinkercad or Freecad and can find my way around them both but definatly not a expert Question What should i use as filament for the stamps PLA or ABS What thickness for the base of the stamp assuming about 2mm for embossed image Any advice welcomed Using Cura 3.6.0 does anyone have a clear pdf of the meaning of the settings and what major ones i should consentrate on Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dikman Report post Posted November 21, 2018 PLA should be fine (you can now buy PLA+, which is supposed to be a bit tougher). ABS requires higher temps and a heated bed, my attempts so far at making small items with ABS have been mostly unsuccessful - the item tends to lift from the bed part way through. Bigger items are fine. I use Slic3r, although I have tried Cura. I learned to use it through trial and error and lots of googling! I'm not aware of a simple guide to using them (which doesn't mean it's not out there). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrisash Report post Posted November 22, 2018 Many thanks At present i am having a problem with the Bowden connecter to the filament tube, but should have replacement items today, have also brought some flexible to build the grand kis a couple of toys whilst learning Looked at the popular 3D design software like Tinkercad, Freecad, Sketchup and also Bender, thinking of settling on Freecad at moment but could change, always welcome to suggestions Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dikman Report post Posted November 22, 2018 I have 123D Design, solvespace and FreeCAD, all free programmes. I haven't spent much time on them yet, but I need to figure out which one will do what I want without spending (wasting?) a lot of time on them - if that's possible! I'm also interested in trying to make stamps for tooling. It's a good idea to start printing existing designs first to get familiar with using the beastie. Thingiverse is a good source for all sorts of things. I forgot to ask, are you using a glass bed for printing on? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrisash Report post Posted November 22, 2018 No glass bed just a special top made for the ender, taken me a long time today to get it leveled, i think the next purchase will be a auto level kit It seems very like leather work, the more goodies you buy the more you want or need and as my grandson says" I I I Neeed it" aged two Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dikman Report post Posted November 22, 2018 (edited) A common "mod" is to cut a piece of picture frame glass the same size as the bed and clamp it on with a couple of spring binder clamps. This prevents wear on the original bed and is easier to clean if using the hair spray or glue stick method to hold the printed item in place. A razor blade scraper can be used to clean the glass, but the downside is (for me) it needs regular checking for bed levelling. Which doesn't matter as I'm getting good at it! And yes, mine has been modified somewhat from the original. It seems the more you learn the more you see needs to be done........ Chris, I just looked up the Ender 3 and found a nice review on it, sounds like a nice machine. The reviewer mentioned this youtube site - It has some basic settings for Cura. It might be of some interest. Edited November 22, 2018 by dikman More info Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RockyAussie Report post Posted November 29, 2018 On 21/11/2018 at 8:39 AM, chrisash said: Just opened up my new machine and run a couple of Benchy tugboats in PLA after a frustrating 2 hours trying to level the table (all finger trouble), they came out excellent Anyway the point of the post, I aim to make stamps i can press using a Arbor press, will at the start be using Tinkercad or Freecad and can find my way around them both but definatly not a expert Question What should i use as filament for the stamps PLA or ABS What thickness for the base of the stamp assuming about 2mm for embossed image Any advice welcomed Using Cura 3.6.0 does anyone have a clear pdf of the meaning of the settings and what major ones i should consentrate on Congratulations @chrisash on getting a very worthwhile tool. Be patient and do a lot of getting used to your settings and how the can vary before trying to do too much too quickly. Lots of things like your temperature in different colour filaments and ideal bed temperatures for the given filament and a hundred other various adjustments, can make a big difference to the outcome. I have had a lot of health issues of late and along with a huge backlog of work to catch up on I am sorry I am limited to the help I can give you in a hurry. In order to help some with the above questions I can say that the pla+ has worked excedingly well with the stamp project I am currently working on. I am still working on this project at the moment and will give a more full break down of it over the next week or so but here a a few pictures to help show you more of what I mean. I should start by saying that the stamps in this case are a letter set that I have designed a font for that I want to use for stamping onto belts that have to be painted in different colours as well. This involves the use several different processes including the 3d printer and a 2.5 watt laser as well as a clicker press and so on. First I designed a guide to hold the letters which were going to be used with the Ivan letter set. As I could not get a font for the laser work I then designed my own. The following pic shows my stamp test held up well to the hammering down with the clicker press. This one shows that the Ivan letter set is thinner and a bit smoother but I have not bothered to smooth out the pla+ printed ones either. This one just shows where I am testing the line up of the laser cut masking tape with my stamp. AS you see I did not have it quite aligned as needed and I have to say that the thickness of the letter width is only .77 mm so it does take a little patience. There's that word again. Oh nearly forgot.... the letter height I used 2.5mm high off the block and 2mm wide at base extruding up at -15 deg inside the letter and 15 degrees outside the letter. I work in Autocad unfortunately so I cant help much in the other programs. Brian Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrisash Report post Posted November 29, 2018 Hi Thanks for the info, the names look great I have just signed up for Fusion 360 which is free for the full version as a hobby person. far exceeds the other software in ease of use and selection of tools, there is a handy new book "Fusion 360 for makers"by Lynda Sloan Cline, it is designed for 3D printers with good talk through projects One thing i have found out about my printer is the time taken to get the pad to fully hot, it shows the heat at correct but when you try a print it fails in some places, but if you then clean that off and immediately start again its all ok, i guess the sensor is in one position and it takes more time to spread evenly over the whole pad Can you say what the difference is between PLA and PLA+, at present just using a cheap PLA and getting good results after hours and hours of leveling, apart from the above what else do you make Are your stamps made with straight edges to the letters or do they widen towards the base i.e. triangular shape rather than rectangular Bit surprised that not many using this part of the forum Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dikman Report post Posted November 29, 2018 1 hour ago, chrisash said: Bit surprised that not many using this part of the forum Chris I'm not. Unfortunately 3D printing requires a fair bit of effort to sort out, as you're finding out. I suspect that for most it's either too daunting a prospect or they don't have the time. Brian, sorry to hear you've been on the sick list, hope you're on the mend. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RockyAussie Report post Posted November 30, 2018 14 hours ago, chrisash said: Are your stamps made with straight edges to the letters or do they widen towards the base i.e. triangular shape rather than rectangular Yes the letters are splayed wider at the bottom. As I tried to say above the height I gave from the base of the letter is 2.5mm and the base width of each letter is 2mm wide extruded up with a taper angle of 15 degrees inward from both edges at the base of the letter. In AutoCad this can be done in several different methods but in this case I started with the letter line in the middle and offset from that 1mm either side of the polyline. This helps for doing the laser cutting later which has to be a single line with no thickness otherwise the laser cuts both sides of the width of the line. Pain in the but....but sort of like solving a puzzle I guess. To make it more complex the dxf file that goes to the laser can not use polly lines and so must all be exploded first back into all of the broken up lines again. Until you get familiar with doing 3d drawings it may all sound a bit confusing to start with. Letters that have no holes in them like an A or an O can be just done at 15 degrees but for ones that have the holes the inner lines should taper at -15 degrees.They are best done first in order to make them easier to subtract the solid parts you need to get rid of as you go. Sorry if this is confusing yet but I will try and do more of a step type of process with some pictures when I finish the above project next week I hope. 12 hours ago, dikman said: Brian, sorry to hear you've been on the sick list, hope you're on the mend. Thanks for the thoughts dikman. Amongst several issues I am now dealing with a bad case of rheumatoid arthritis which for a few years I have been ignoring and taking anti inflamitories etc to keep it at bay. Now I find out it can paralyse and even kill you. GREAT... and they have done enough scans now in three months to equal nearly a thousand x rays. If I don't have the big C already , I probably will get it now anyway. They wonder why I don't want to go in every time they call me for another Non urgent appointment. That's the end of my bitchin on this subject for now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrisash Report post Posted November 30, 2018 Yesterday the first time in 10 days since i got it, I managed to get a 9 point level print with each measuring 2 mm and i was chuffed until today, when my order for the new ender 3 ultra glass surface arrived, and time to start again, still all part of life's rich tapestry Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dikman Report post Posted November 30, 2018 Chris, it's all good fun...... Brian, maybe you could start a "new" career designing 3D files for those of us who are mentally challenged. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garypl Report post Posted January 2, 2020 I made the plunge and bought an Ender 3D printer and assembled it today. My first print job was a cable clamp to hold one of the cables in place. I am looking forward to using it to make forms for molding, templates and jigs to help with my leather projects! Gary Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrisash Report post Posted January 2, 2020 You may find "Tinkercad" a good starting place for simple 3 d printing designs and it's free and you can learn the basics in about 10 min, also consider "Fusion360" who do a free version for hobbie users and small companies but a bit more advanced but lot of demo on YouTube especially by "Lars Christianson" at https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lars+christensen+fusion+360+absolute+beginner+ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garypl Report post Posted January 3, 2020 Chris - thanks for the tips! I have started using Tinkercad and I will check out the Fusion360 program. Just printed a filament guide and end cap for my printer. Will post projects as I make progress. Gary Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garypl Report post Posted January 6, 2020 Printed my first mold forms today for a small case I make for trap machine controllers. Took about 8 hours total time to print both parts. Tested it with some 2-3 oz bridle and it worked great! Outer frame feels very rigid - made it with PLA at 25% fill - maybe overkill? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rockoboy Report post Posted January 6, 2020 Is it possible to print this type of thing with a smooth surface? That grooved surface might be undesirable to a lot of people. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garypl Report post Posted January 6, 2020 I think if I adjust the settings it will come out finer. Actually, the inside is much smother than the top. I molded a piece of leather and there are no markings where it squeezed between the two pieces. Just printed a small wrench to release pressure on my Harbor Freight hydraulic press so I don’t have to use the lever that pumps the ram up and down. I’m having too much fun printing stuff - need to start leather projects! Gary Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rockoboy Report post Posted January 7, 2020 I think I can see a 3D printer in my immediate future! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrisash Report post Posted January 7, 2020 You will find that if you use round corners rather than square ones the leather bends around much better What slicer are you using CURA is one of the better free ones with regular updates checkout https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dikman Report post Posted January 7, 2020 22 hours ago, Rockoboy said: Is it possible to print this type of thing with a smooth surface? That grooved surface might be undesirable to a lot of people. Not really, it's the nature of the printing process. The surface can be sanded smooth and using wet and dry paper (wet) it will come out very smooth. However, if you sand too heavily you can go through layers and cause delaminating, particularly on edges. I've made one or two models and have used a combination of sanding and car body filler/surface filler prior to painting. It works well but is a lot of effort. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kgg Report post Posted January 8, 2020 On 1/6/2020 at 11:15 PM, Rockoboy said: Is it possible to print this type of thing with a smooth surface? That grooved surface might be undesirable to a lot of people. There are a lot of factors that can go into getting a projects surface smooth, without having to do a lot of after printing touch-ups. Most of what you print is going to be for personal use and surface appearance really doesn't manner as long as it is functional and presentable. My list of the factors affecting surface appearance so it acceptable and I am sure there are more that can be added are: Experience and design software used, I like Fusion 360 but there are many others available. Your approach when designing the project. I still like the old school way of designing, putting my initial design thoughts to paper. Whereas my son just does it within the software. Whatever works best for you. Using 3d software and printings really will cause you to think of things in a different manner. Slicer software and the settings, which sometimes needs to modified depending on the project and filament being used. The quality of the 3d printer and the care taken in setting the unit up. Buy a decent machine within your budget as the prices verses capabilities are getting cheaper every year. I chose the Prusa i3 mk3 which was a kit and a royal pain to put together. Took about ten to twelve hours to assemble. Time consuming along with the manual having some errors coupled with some pictures being incorrect. I figure within the next couple of years a metal 3d printer will be almost affordable as new / more manufacturers come online. The bed temperature. The type and size of the nozzle. The type and quality of filament, just like sewing thread, they are not all equal. Even the colour of the filament can affect the final look as some colours show small imperfections and layering more then others. Drafts, ambient temperature and humidity can be major factors that can affect the printing. Just what I have found so far. kgg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garypl Report post Posted January 8, 2020 Great feedback, thank you everyone! Chris, I am using the Creality slicer that came with the printer. I will download Cura as I have heard many good comments about it. Using Tinkercad to create projects for now. Downloaded Fusion 360, but have not taken the time to learn it yet. Right now I’m just printing a lot of small items to update the printer itself, but what I plan to do is convert many of the patterns I have on card stock to plastic templates that will be sturdier and easier to use! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrisash Report post Posted January 8, 2020 Gary If you use the Cura standard settings for most filament types they come out fine and i have never had any problem with uneven top or side surfaces just using the standard settings and the standard settings, for even better results you can use the fine settings but takes longer For stamps I use Taulman nylon 230 which gives a good sharp finish and takes the pressure without wear or breaking Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garypl Report post Posted January 10, 2020 Thanks Chris - I have not had a chance to download Cura yet, but it will be a rainy weekend here in Georgia, so will try it out tomorrow! Gary Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
